| Coronavirus may give President Trump a long-sought chance to privatize the Postal Service Posted: 12 Apr 2020 10:32 AM PDT  Amid a cash crunch threatening to put the postal service out of business, President Trump is being accused of blocking bipartisan efforts to fund the agency as part of an effort to privatize mail delivery.
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| In coronavirus, the 'stable genius' confronts a 'brilliant enemy' Posted: 12 Apr 2020 11:05 AM PDT  President Trump tries to explain antibiotic resistance on the part of coronavirus, "a brilliant enemy."
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| Italy’s New Coronavirus Cases Fall as Daily Death Toll Rises Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:57 AM PDT |
| Standing Too Close. Not Covering Coughs. If Someone Is Violating Social Distancing Rules, What Do You Do? Posted: 13 Apr 2020 04:00 AM PDT  If someone coughs into the air or stands too close, correcting their behavior could help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save lives.
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| 7 Great Online Learning Platforms to Develop New Skills Posted: 13 Apr 2020 01:31 PM PDT |
| UN releases $2.5 million to help cyclone-ravaged Vanuatu Posted: 13 Apr 2020 05:07 PM PDT  The United Nations released $2.5 million from its emergency humanitarian fund on Monday to help thousands of people in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu affected by Cyclone Harold and offered support to other hard-hit countries. The cyclone made landfall on the largest island in Vanuatu, Espiritu Santo, on April 6 before hitting the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Tonga. The U.N. cited media reports saying the storm left more than two dozen people dead, and destroyed homes, buildings and crops in the four countries.
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| The US Navy is leaving a carrier strike group at sea to keep sailors from catching the coronavirus Posted: 13 Apr 2020 12:13 PM PDT  The Harry S. Truman CSG is done with its deployment, but it isn't returning home yet due to concerns over the continued spread of the coronavirus.
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| 'Rice ATM' feeds Vietnam's most vulnerable population during virus lockdown Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:55 AM PDT  A Vietnamese entrepreneur in Ho Chi Minh City has invented a 24/7 automatic dispensing machine providing free rice for people out of work following an ongoing nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
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| Asia virus latest: China infections rise, oil prices jump Posted: 13 Apr 2020 12:49 AM PDT  China reported 108 new virus cases, 98 of which were imported from overseas, its highest figure since early March. Oil prices rose in Asian trade after top producers agreed to massive output cuts, but gains were capped as doubts grew over whether the move was enough to stabilise coronavirus-ravaged energy markets. Asian stock markets mostly fell.
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| India, Pakistan plan to restart some economic activity during coronavirus lockdown Posted: 13 Apr 2020 01:40 AM PDT  India and Pakistan are planning to partially reopen their economies to minimise the cost of restrictive measures imposed to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus, officials in the two countries said on Monday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter he will address the nation on Tuesday, at the end of a 21-day lockdown that has severely disrupted economic activity and left millions of its 1.3 billion people out of work. Two Pakistani cabinet ministers told Reuters the civil and military leadership would meet on Monday to decide whether to extend countrywide restrictions there beyond April 15.
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| Fact check: NYC is not planning to use trenches in parks as burial grounds Posted: 14 Apr 2020 09:10 AM PDT  New York City officials dispute a tweet – since removed – from council member Mark Levine that city parks will be used for 'temporary interment.'
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| Two men arrested for murder of Miami girl over Adidas Yeezy shoes Posted: 13 Apr 2020 10:30 AM PDT  The captain of her school dance team was murdered last week during a botched shoe robbery.
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| Chinese ship returns to waters off Vietnam amid virus 'distraction' charges Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:27 PM PDT |
| Abe fuels anger; more recovered South Koreans test positive Posted: 12 Apr 2020 09:44 PM PDT  A "stay home" message tweeted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has fueled anger and accusations that he is insensitive toward people who cannot remain at home because the government's social distancing measures are voluntary and don't provide compensation. The one-minute video released Sunday shows Abe sitting at home patting his dog, reading a book, sipping from a cup and clicking on a remote control. Abe declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and six other prefectures last Tuesday and broadened it nationwide on Saturday.
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| Biden Wins Wisconsin Primary Held Last Week During Virus Outbreak Posted: 13 Apr 2020 06:26 PM PDT |
| Asian countries fear coronavirus resurgence: "I am nervous" Posted: 14 Apr 2020 04:52 AM PDT  With domestic cases in China and other countries mostly tamped down, imported infections are now the biggest danger.
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| Israel's Gantz, Netanyahu given 48 hours to form unity govt Posted: 13 Apr 2020 04:02 PM PDT  Israel's parliament speaker Benny Gantz was given 48 hours on Tuesday to reach a deal on an emergency unity government with his former election rival, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The narrow negotiating window was approved by President Reuven Rivlin minutes after Gantz's four-week mandate to form a government expired. In a joint statement, Gantz's centrist Blue and White alliance and Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party said "significant progress" had been made towards a deal in direct talks between the two men early Tuesday morning.
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| As deaths mount, delivery workers say they're kept in the dark over who's sick Posted: 14 Apr 2020 03:00 AM PDT  "How are any of us supposed to get ahead of a virus when we don't even know who's sick?" asked one UPS employee.
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| Newsom: West Coast states are readying to reopen economies, together Posted: 13 Apr 2020 06:31 PM PDT  California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a West Coast collaboration to reopen the economy and new funding to bolster programs for at-risk children
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| India's air quality has improved so much since the country went on coronavirus lockdown citizens can now see the Himalayas for the first time in 30 years Posted: 13 Apr 2020 12:48 PM PDT  Residents in the northern Indian state of Punjab say they're seeing the Himalayas for the first time in decades while on coronavirus lockdown.
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| Global economy in 2020 on track for sharpest downturn since 1930s: IMF Posted: 14 Apr 2020 05:33 AM PDT  The global economy is expected to shrink by 3.0% during 2020 in a stunning coronavirus-driven collapse of activity that will mark the steepest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. The IMF, in its 2020 World Economic Outlook, predicted a partial rebound in 2021, with the world economy growing at a 5.8% rate, but said its forecasts were marked by "extreme uncertainty" and that outcomes could be far worse, depending on the course of the pandemic. "This recovery in 2021 is only partial as the level of economic activity is projected to remain below the level we had projected for 2021, before the virus hit," Gita Gopinath, the IMF's chief economist, told a news conference via a video link.
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| Australian cardinal links corruption to child abuse charges Posted: 14 Apr 2020 04:36 AM PDT  Cardinal George Pell has linked his fight against corruption in the Vatican with his prosecution in Australia for alleged child sex abuse. Pell was regarded as the third highest-ranking Vatican official in 2018 when he became the world's most senior Catholic to be convicted of child sex abuse. Pope Francis' former finance minister said in a television interview broadcast on Tuesday that some church officials believed he was prosecuted by Australian authorities because of the trouble he had caused in the Vatican in implementing financial reforms.
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| 'A slap in the face': Furious Michiganders are planning to protest their governor's travel crackdowns in the state capital Posted: 13 Apr 2020 10:47 AM PDT  On social media and in nearly 1,200 emails to Insider, Michigan residents expressed anger at every aspect of the governor's executive order.
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| Trump might fire the one person in the White House who knows what he's doing Posted: 13 Apr 2020 07:33 AM PDT  If he isn't careful, Dr. Anthony Fauci may end up the latest — and most high-profile — victim of President Trump's war on expertise. But Trump should beware. His own credibility in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic is already crumbling. Firing Fauci could undermine what confidence the public still has in his leadership.The president's disdain for specialized knowledge, and the people who have it, is well-documented by now. Fauci, who has served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, has become the face of governmental expertise during the coronavirus crisis. Trump wants to return the country, and the economy, to normalcy as quickly as possible. Fauci has warned that may not be so easy. This is a relationship that has been on track for a high-profile conflict — and that conflict may have arrived.Trump signaled on Sunday that Fauci's tenure is in danger, retweeting a former Republican congressional candidate who used a FireFauci hashtag and reportedly asking confidants what they think about the doctor. That came hours after Fauci appeared on CNN and seemed to confirm a New York Times report documenting six weeks of warnings about the coronavirus that the president ignored before finally taking significant action in March."What goes into those kinds of decisions is complicated," Fauci told the network on Sunday. "But you're right. I mean, obviously, if we had, right from the very beginning, shut everything down, it may have been a little bit different. But there was a lot of pushback about shutting things down back then."Fauci's careful "it is what it is" answer to Jake Tapper's question reflects a careful balance he has walked during the pandemic — an attempt to balance truth-telling and sound medical advice with a need not to ruffle the president's feathers. But Trump's feathers are easily ruffled, he never admits a mistake, and his Sunday tweet is the latest sign his patience with Fauci is wearing thin.It is remarkable that Fauci has lasted this long.The president's war on expertise has been a defining feature of his administration — his administration has disbanded scientific panels on air pollution, eliminated advisory committees, and worked to cut public health agencies, among other efforts. Some of this inclination is ideological: Conservatives have long wanted to crack down on the "administrative state" of bureaucrats and specialists who make the government run on a day-to-day basis, and the Trump presidency has provided them the opportunity. Some of it is personal: The president continues to cleanse executive branch agencies of career officials whose loyalty to him is suspect. And some of it is hubris: Trump somehow believes himself to be an expert on nearly every topic, even though there is considerable evidence otherwise."The experts are terrible," Trump said on the campaign trail in 2016. He has governed accordingly.Fauci's new prominence, meanwhile, has made him a target of Trump's right-wing allies, who believe he has exaggerated the risks of the coronavirus and thus irresponsibly shut down the nation's economy. "Fauci is not an economist — or for that matter, someone who fears being unemployed," Fox's Tucker Carlson said on a recent show. Others, less kindly, have called Fauci a "stooge" of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.One other factor may endanger Fauci's job standing. A recent Quinnipiac poll shows the doctor has a 78 percent approval rating from the American public for his handling of the pandemic — just 7 percent of respondents gave him a negative review. Trump meanwhile is underwater in the same poll, with a 48 percent approval rating undermined by 51 percent who dislike the job he is doing. The president, we know, doesn't like being outshined.But those numbers ought to give Trump pause if he really is thinking of firing Fauci. They indicate that the credibility of the federal government's response hinges a great deal on the public's belief that the experts still have a substantial say in how things are run. The alarmed "where's Fauci?" cries that go up whenever the doctor misses a coronavirus task force press briefing are another sign of the public's confidence in his knowledge and experience.The president may disdain experts, but it is clear — more now, perhaps, than ever — that such specialists are needed to fight the pandemic and help guide America to its end. It is time President Trump call a ceasefire in his war on expertise, and let Dr. Fauci help see the country through this crisis.More stories from theweek.com CNN's Jim Acosta expresses concern Trump's 'meltdown' shows he's not 'in control on multiple levels' Trump's frightening claim of 'total' authority Rainn Wilson shares Dwight's advice for how to spend your time in quarantine
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| Michelle Obama initiative backs expanding vote-by-mail for 2020 Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:30 AM PDT  An initiative co-chaired by Michelle Obama has announced support for expanding access to vote-by-mail during the coronavirus pandemic.
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| Biden's Biden: How the former VP is approaching his running mate search Posted: 14 Apr 2020 02:00 AM PDT  The former vice president has already broken a lot of the guidelines that past nominees have used in conducting their running mate searches.
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| 'It would cripple us completely': Coronavirus takes toll on rural police agencies Posted: 12 Apr 2020 05:38 PM PDT  In rural police departments, even a few coronavirus cases could pack a wallop. Small agencies don't have budgets to fill in for sick patrol officers.
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| Pakistan 'sleep walking' into virus disaster, says opposition leader Posted: 13 Apr 2020 06:53 AM PDT  Pakistan risks "sleep walking" into a coronavirus catastrophe where death tolls reach levels seen in the West and perilously under-resourced hospitals are pushed to the brink, an opposition leader told AFP on Monday. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of Pakistan's first female leader Benazir Bhutto, said the country's response to the pandemic so far had been characterised by federal foot-dragging over a comprehensive lockdown and an unwillingness to divert cash to the buckling health care system. Pakistan so far has recorded 93 deaths from a total of 5,230 cases, but experts worry the impoverished country of 215 million people -- many of whom live in cramped, multi-generational households -- is only at the start of the coronavirus curve.
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| Russia says it's ready for hypersonic missile talks with U.S. Posted: 14 Apr 2020 02:52 AM PDT  Russia is ready to discuss hypersonic missiles and other arms control issues with the United States as part of wider discussions about strategic stability, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday. Cold War-era arms control agreements have been in jeopardy as Russia's relations with the West have soured in recent years. In August 2019, the United States pulled out of a landmark strategic arms accord, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), citing Russian non-compliance.
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| Detained immigrants plead for masks, protection from virus Posted: 13 Apr 2020 10:03 PM PDT  Elsy was on the phone in an immigration detention center when guards showed up with face masks and forms to sign. The asylum-seeker from El Salvador and others had resorted to tearing their T-shirts into face coverings after a woman in their unit tested positive for COVID-19.
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| Herd immunity is the only way the coronavirus pandemic will end — and it would require a vaccine. Here's how it works. Posted: 14 Apr 2020 04:43 AM PDT  "We're still a long way from herd immunity," Melinda Gates said. "And you can't count on that, because a lot of people are going to die."
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| Trump against tests his power by declaring only he can re-open US from lockdown Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:03 AM PDT  Donald Trump is declaring he – and only he – can give a lawful order opening the United States from its coronavirus lockdown. The claim, questioned by experts, amounts to a resumption of the impeached president pushing his office's powers in new ways since being acquitted by the Senate.Before the Covid-19 outbreak, Mr Trump's aides did not deny their boss felt newly confident with renewed swagger after the GOP-run Senate cleared him on House-approved charges of abusing his power and obstructing Congress. Those same aides said he felt more comfortable issuing pardons, delving into Justice Department matters, and taking other executive actions after coming to fully understand that Democrats lack the votes to use his most norms-busting actions to convict and remove him from office.
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| Bloomberg Quashed 2013 China Exposé over Concerns CCP ‘Will Probably Kick Us Out of the Country’ Posted: 14 Apr 2020 08:36 AM PDT  Bloomberg editors and news executives prevented reporters from following up on an award-winning 2012 investigation into China's wealthy elite over concerns that the Chinese Communist Party could retaliate by kicking the outlet out of the country, according to audio recordings obtained by NPR.In late October 2013, Bloomberg's founding editor-in-chief Matthew Winkler explained in a conference call with members of his China-based investigative team — which had been working for over a year on a story exposing the corruption surrounding Chinese President Xi Jinping and his family — that their efforts were not "justified.""It is for sure going to, you know, invite the Communist Party to, you know, completely shut us down and kick us out of the country," Winkler explained in the recording, comparing the situation to Nazi-run Germany. " . . . The inference is going to be interpreted by the government there as we are judging them, and they will probably kick us out of the country. They'll probably shut us down, is my guess."At the time, Winkler publicly pushed back on claims that he was killing the story over fears of Chinese repercussions, telling The New York Times — which cited the call but did not report its exact contents — that "what you have is untrue. The stories are active and not spiked."The team, which included Mike Forsythe, a former Beijing correspondent for Bloomberg News who now works at The New York Times, had won a George Polk Award a year earlier for its reporting on the corrupt financial holdings of China's ruling class. "We are grateful to be recognized by our peers for reporting that advanced the public interest by providing transparency in China," Winkler said in a statement following the award.Michael Bloomberg also responded to reports of the 2013 call while serving as New York City mayor, saying at a City Hall press conference. "Nobody thinks we are wusses and not willing to stand up and write stories that are of interest to the public and that are factually correct," he stated.But after he had left office two months later, Bloomberg admitted in a town hall for his global newsroom that the story was an example of "shoot the messenger.""If a country gives you the license to do something with certain restrictions, you have two choices," Bloomberg told his staff in the January 2014 recording. "You either accept the license and do it that way, or you don't do business there."He stood by his assessment in a May interview with CNBC. "In China, they have rules about what you can publish. We follow those rules. If you don't follow the rules, you're not in the country," he said.Bloomberg drew criticism during his 2020 presidential run for being reticent to criticize China out of a desire to protect his financial interests in the country. (Bloomberg's main source of revenue, the sale of expensive financial terminals, is heavily dependent on access to the Chinese market.)"This is the kind of stupid you can't script," Senator Ben Sasse (R., Neb.) said in a statement after Bloomberg argued in a September interview that "Xi Jinping is not a dictator" and "the Communist Party wants to stay in power in China and they listen to the public."In the February Democratic debate, Bloomberg claimed India "is even a bigger problem" then China to the global effort to slow climate change, even as China remains the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide.
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| You don't need to obsessively disinfect your groceries, and other coronavirus tips from experts Posted: 14 Apr 2020 04:22 AM PDT  Grocery shopping is one of the few things everyone is still doing in the time of COVID-19 social distancing. Whether you order online or shop in a store, you eventually come in contact with the food and toiletries — but "don't drive yourself crazy disinfecting your groceries," writes NPR's Maria Godoy, citing virologists, infectious disease specialists, and food safety experts.No matter what that family doctor in Michigan advised in his video, "all of the experts we spoke with say that disinfecting and hand-washing every last item in your grocery haul is really not necessary," Godoy reports. "You might find it comforting to know that none of these experts are doing this themselves." There's a very small chance you could contract the coronavirus from touching a package then your face, but "the majority of transmission is probably going to be from respiratory droplets, which you're exposed to when you're around other people," says Angela Rasmussen, a Columbia University virologist.You should shop alone, avoid crowded stores, sanitize your cart, stay six feet from fellow shoppers, and get in and out of the store as quickly as possible, but your best bet to avoid contamination from the groceries themselves is washing your hands with soap and water after shopping, again after unpacking the groceries, and before preparing the food and eating. Gloves aren't necessary at the store, but do wear a mask."Time is really on your side here," said Dr. David Aronoff, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "After 24 hours, the vast majority of virus is no longer infectious," and after 72 hours, there's almost no trace of the virus on most surfaces. You can leave nonperishable food out for 24 hours before putting it away, though it's good practice to wipe down countertops where you unpacked the groceries. Read more expert advice on how to pay, whether to change clothes, and other tips at NPR.More stories from theweek.com CNN's Jim Acosta expresses concern Trump's 'meltdown' shows he's not 'in control on multiple levels' Trump's frightening claim of 'total' authority Rainn Wilson shares Dwight's advice for how to spend your time in quarantine
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| Florida man charged with murder after wife disappears amid suspicious coronavirus messages Posted: 13 Apr 2020 02:45 PM PDT  Texts from Gretchen Anthony's cell phone said she had COVID-19 but there's no medical record of it
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| Thousands of American Airlines pilots, flight attendants take leave, early retirement Posted: 13 Apr 2020 12:48 PM PDT  Thousands of American Airlines pilots and flight attendants have accepted offers for voluntary leave and early retirement amid the coronavirus crisis.
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| Special Report: Hong Kong judges battle Beijing over rule of law as pandemic chills protests Posted: 14 Apr 2020 04:05 AM PDT  The independence of Hong Kong's judicial system is under assault from the Communist Party leadership in Beijing, senior judges in the city told Reuters, posing the gravest threat to the rule of law since Britain handed its former colony back to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Three of Hong Kong's most senior judges told Reuters that the independent judiciary, the cornerstone of the city's broad freedoms, is in a fight for its survival. Beijing's effort to hobble the judiciary is multi-pronged, according to more than two dozen interviews with judges, leading lawyers and diplomats in Hong Kong.
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| Former Senate staffer accuses Joe Biden of sexual assault Posted: 12 Apr 2020 07:29 PM PDT  A former aide to Joe Biden is accusing the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee of sexually assaulting her during the early 1990s when he was a senator. In two recent interviews with The Associated Press, Tara Reade alleged the assault occurred in the basement of a Capitol Hill office building in the spring of 1993. It's not the first time Reade has made an accusation against the former vice president.
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| Taco Bell is giving away free tacos, despite backlash from workers worried about catching the coronavirus from customers Posted: 14 Apr 2020 06:50 AM PDT  Taco Bell is giving away free Doritos Locos Tacos on Tuesday, despite worker backlash against the deal.
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| Gun Shops Can Sell Firearms From Parking Lots and Offer Drive-Thru Services During COVID-19 Pandemic: Justice Department Posted: 12 Apr 2020 10:40 AM PDT  The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issued the guidance in an industry letter published Friday
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| Libya’s Haftar Dealt Setback in Fighting West of Tripoli Posted: 13 Apr 2020 06:52 AM PDT |
| California is days away from its projected coronavirus peak. Here's how the state prepared to 'bend the curve.' Posted: 13 Apr 2020 09:50 AM PDT  California took decisive early action against coronavirus, and that's why the state can be confident in its fight, a Stanford professor says.
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| Six U.S. states to coordinate reopening after shutdown Posted: 13 Apr 2020 01:55 PM PDT 
The announcement of the panel, to include economic and health officials from each state as well as the chief of staff of all six governors, came after President Donald Trump insisted that any decision on restarting the economy was his to make. The states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, with a total population of 32 million, will join with neighboring Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island in coordinating their efforts to reopen the economy as more signs the outbreak has stabilized emerged over the weekend.
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| Nobody will die from coronavirus in Belarus, says president Posted: 13 Apr 2020 10:06 AM PDT  Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday nobody would die from the coronavirus in his country and again rejected any need for the strict lockdown measures adopted by most countries to contain the spread of the pandemic. In stark contrast to other European countries, Belarus has kept its borders open and even allowed soccer matches in the national league to be played in front of spectators. Its churches have also remained open in the run-up to Orthodox Easter on April 19.
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